Toad
'Toad '(Also known as Mr Toad) is a one of the main characters in The Wind In The Willows. The Film Toad lives at his ancestrial home Toad Hall and first appeared in the film trying to row a boat, he didn't do very well so he decided to take up a new craze of travelling the world with a horse and cart with Ratty and Mole around to join him. However a large motorcar drives by, destroying the cart and frightening the horse. Ratty and Mole try to sort out the mess but Toad now has a new craze for motorcars. He buys several differant coloured motorcars and after driving them has several crashes. Toad starts becoming a nuisance with his arguments to the police, his dangerous driving and his crashes untill Ratty and Mole along with another of his friends Badger decide to make him give up motorcars once and for all. They arrive and stop him before he drives his newest one before he causes another accident. Badger takes Toad into the smoking room and tells him that his reckless antics are giving them and all animals around the district a bad name and he must stop before he goes too far. Afterwards even though Badger assures the others that Toad has decided to give up motorcars forever, the deceiving animal tells them that he doesn't and will go off in the very next one he sees. They lock him in his bedroom until he changes his mind, but Toad decieves Ratty into thinking he is ill and escapes by tying his blankets to the window and disappears into the snowy road. Along the way he sees two passengers in a motorcar and after tricking the people drives away in it. Later he is in court and sentanced to prison for twenty years for stealing, dangerous driving and being rude to the police. Toad is miserable, refusing all food and sobbing. The daughter of the jailer who is charge of the prison feels sorry for Toad and decides to help him escape by dressing him up as a washerwoman. At first Toad refuses but is grateful for her help. He goes out of the prison ignoring the rude remarks giving by some of the prison guards and makes his way to the train station. He finds the two people who he stole the motorcar from and sneaks past making his way to the engine where he tells the driver that he's a washerwoman who has lost her money and needs to get home to her children. The driver lets him on, however the two people spot him and tell the police to stop him. Toad thinks he's won and starts singing praise to himself. The driver sees the train with the police inside following them and asks Toad to tell him the truth, he does and the driver pushes him off. He lands on a soft patch of grass and sees Toad Hall in the distance. He goes to visit Ratty who at first doesn't recognise him until Toad reveals who he is and goes to the living room where he meets Mole. Together they tell him that the Weasels from the Wild Wood have driven Badger out of Toad Hall while he was protecting it and had taken over so they had been looking after him. Badger suddenly appears and tells Toad that he has a plan. They go through a secret tunnel that goes up to the banqueting hall. Furious at the Chief Weasel for making fun of him, he goes straight in and the others eventually follow. Most of the Weasels are defeated by Ratty, Mole and Badger, while Toad swinging from a chandelier lands hard on the Chief Weasel. They all celebrate. Later Toad takes to another new craze with an airplane only for it to run out of fuel and crash to the ground while the others shake their heads in despair. TV series Toad continues to use a shiny red motorcar throughout the series until after another accident, he replaces it in favour of a red motorcycle with a side car. In the end he uses them both with his motorcycle only making a few appearances. He is obsessed with trying out new things including painting, exploring and sledging. He often says "It's the only thing." Most of time they go wrong and Toad makes a fool of himself or has to ask his friends for help. Personality Toad is conceited, selfish, rather boastful and when things don't go his way he blames everything but himself which results in him often getting into trouble. However he is also kind, good natured and is always willing to help his friends. He is also guillable which makes him easily vulnerable to the Weasels' schemes and the others have to put things right. Whenever it seems like Toad hasn't learned his lesson or causing more mischief they groan: "Oh Toad!" Category:Characters